I Want To Coach Athletics

There are many great reasons to get into coaching; helping others achieve their goals and potential; introducing the sport to other people; helping to improve health and well-being in others; as well as staying connected to the sport after you have stopped competing. There are also many social benefits related to becoming a coach and it is a great opportunity to work alongside others that you perhaps share a passion with. 

Hear from some of our coaches via the UKA Coach Blog series.

Where do I start?

There are many ways to start. If you would like to see if coaching athletics is for you, then why not approach a local club or group and speak with one of the team there about coaching and leading opportunities in the club/group. There may also be the opportunity to take the Leading Athletics course, which is a short workshop used to introduce you to the skills required to be a coach. Details of clubs can be found on the Home Country Athletic Federation pages signposted at the bottom of this page. 

If you already know that coaching athletics is for you, then there are several starting points:

Coaching Assistant: This qualification is for those who wish to take the first step into coaching and working with athletes aged 8 years and over.

The Coaching Assistant Award provides prospective coaches with an introduction to coaching athletics via a range of running, jumping and throwing skills and activities. It will also focus on the introduction of the fundamental movement skills that underpin athletics activities. To support the multi-event approach for developing athletes, Coaching Assistants will mainly assist in the delivery of a range of sessions that develop running, jumping and throwing skills in their club.

Leadership in Running Fitness: The course is designed to prepare you to provide a safe and enjoyable off-track running experience for young people over 12 years of age and adults of any ability. The course covers risk assessment, warm-ups, cool downs, and how to lead fun running sessions for a mixed ability group of runners.

Recognition of Prior Learning: RPL is a process aimed at recognising, assessing and confirming the competencies a learner has obtained from other sources (eg. other coaching awards and other specific formal qualifications that the learner may have). RPL assessment enables learners, where appropriate, to forgo training (or elements of it) and move directly to having their competencies assessed. Although RPL is not necessarily a quick process, it aims to provide applicants with a flexible approach to having their skills and knowledge assessed against learning outcomes and assessment criteria.

Athlete to Coach: The British Athletics Athlete to Coach Programme is a bespoke programme that aims to provide athletes transitioning into coaching with the competencies required to be licensed as a British Athletics Coach.

This programme is not a short cut into coaching, but a programme designed to cover the content and competency requirements of the British Athletics Coaching Assistant and Athletics Coach Courses in a manner that meets the needs of ex-international athletes transitioning from competing to coaching.

There are also a number of other additional learning opportunities and learning modules that are accessible and designed to help and support coaches develop a wider understanding and knowledge base. Further information relating to these opportunities can be found here.

Coaches need to be able to plan and organise safe, inclusive sessions which are progressive and thereby allow an athlete to develop towards and achieve their potential. Some of the skills required include: safety, organisation, communication, observation and creating an effective and progressive learning environment.

To plan, prepare, deliver and review a series of activities designed to meet the development needs of the athlete. To ensure the environment meets the athlete’s welfare needs and allows them the opportunity to fulfil their goals and aspirations. 

• A UKA Coaching Qualification
• UKA Safeguarding Training
• A First Aid certificate
• Criminal records check (DBS/Disclosure Scotland/AccessNI) plus passport style photograph. 

UKA Coaching Qualifications are delivered by the Home Country Athletics Federations. They comprise a blend of online learning and resources with practical learning.

There are different qualification types for the track and off-track environments. There are 9 on-track qualifications and 4 off-track qualifications.

The qualifications vary in price dependent on the level and where you take them. The entry level qualifications start at £110 rising to £270 for the Coach Level Qualifications.

The entry level qualifications take 1 day for the off-track qualification (Leadership in Running Fitness) and 2 days for the on-track qualification to complete (Coaching Assistant).

Yes, there is. Coaching athletes of mixed ability as well as how to coach disabled participants is integrated throughout our courses.

A qualified athletics coach may take a variety of pathways depending on the level of athletes and environment they would like to coach in:

School athletics – Many schools employ coaches on a sessional basis to coach athletics inside and outside the school timetable.

Multi-sport coaching organisations – Running, jumping and throwing underpins the movement skills required for most sports. Athletics coaches are well-equipped to coach on fundamental sports programmes and so are a popular choice within coaching organisations.

Independent coaches – Some coaches choose to set up their own coaching business catering for a range of athletes from those who want to use athletics and running to stay fit to those that want to compete at the highest level. 

Athletics Clubs and Academies – Although most coaches within athletics clubs are volunteers, paid coaching opportunities are becoming more common especially within clubs that run academies for youth athletes.

NGB programmes – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales run programmes at various levels of the development pathway and most currently offer employment opportunities for coaches. 

University programmes – many universities employ coaches within their sports programmes to cater for a wide range of athletes from those that take part for recreational purposes and those who are competitive. 

Personal coaches to high performing athletes – some coaches begin as volunteer coaches and progress an athlete through to World Class level, which requires a greater time-spend and focus. At this point, the athlete and coach may enter the World Class Performance Programme where funding for both may be available.